2021 has been a year mixed with hope and struggles, but most pushed ahead with continued resilience. While it feels like the pandemic will never end, now is not the time to lose steam. At Primera, we’ve made strides toward sustainable growth, thanks in large part to the resiliency of both our clients and employees. The shared belief of our core values has guided us through these difficult times, and together we will continue to move forward.

As we close out yet another year, let’s look back on some of our most popular stories and biggest accomplishments to refresh our focus for an even better year ahead. 

1. Primera was recognized as a 2021 Chicago Tribune Top Workplace and ranked in the top half of the 97 firms named to the small company category.
2. Our Rubenstein Forum project not only opened for bookings this year, but also received two industry awards – the ASHRAE Technology Award and the ACEC-IL Engineering Excellence Award.
3. Our Controller, Melissa Clark, was honored with the CFO of the Year Award in the small private company category from the Financial Executives International (FEI) Chicago Chapter.
4. Primera was ranked as a top engineering/architecture firm in the U.S. by Building Design+Construction and as an ENR Top 500 Design Firm/ENR Midwest Top Design Firm. These publications rank the largest U.S.-based design firms, based on design-specific revenue in 2020.
5. This year, we won our largest project to date as a key member of the design team for the new, innovative Discovery Partners Institute project located in one of Chicago’s megadevelopments – The 78.
6. The Primera Foundation’s inaugural STEMFEST event raised nearly $60,000 in support of STEM education.
7. Three of our executives received Crain’s recognition this year – Trevor Leeds, our Consulting Division Manager, was selected as a Crain’s Notable Military Veteran Executive; Stacie Dovalovsky, our Transportation Division Manager, was honored with the Crain’s Notable Women in Construction and Design; and Kendahle Artis, our Vice President of Human Resources, was honored among Crain’s Notable Leaders in HR.
8. After nearly 19 years, we successfully completed our role in the $8.2B O’Hare Modernization Program. We were involved in nearly every aspect of the civil design process through a wide array of projects, as well as providing MEP, fire protection, and architectural support when needed.
9. We received two highly specialized and important prequalifications that will help us provide more enhanced Transportation design services. We’re approved for advanced typical structures and movable bridge work and approved to provide public involvement support.
10. Our Senior Vice President and Director of Business Development, Lourdes Gonzalez, was honored by Chicago United as a 2021 Business Leader of Color.

In addition to our top people and project stories, our team of experts also provided us with some innovative insights in the industry. Here’s a look at our top thought leadership articles of the year:

1. The Importance of GIS – How the “Where” Became as Important as the “What” for Local Government Leaders
2. Fire Prevention Week Safety Tips
3. Calling All Project Managers! Get More Done by Doing Less
4. Infrastructure Needs Grow with Electric Vehicle Popularity
5. Building Automation: Improving Building Performance
6. Field Data Collection and Management Best Practices